In the Shadow of War
by Codename-ShadowFox
Summary: The Third Shinobi World War ended with massive loss on all sides, while Konoha came out on top, the younger generations suffered. With the attack of the Kyuubi, many veteran shinobi fell on that night. To keep its strength an idea was proposed. A complete change in teaching during the academy, where students will either become true shinobi or they will be dropped instantly. Harem.
1. Prologue

**AN- **So I was working on chapter 22 of Shadowfox right? When BAM! Inspiration hit me like a two-ton truck and I just kept writing and writing. Four chapters for today, I plan to make them short so it will be easier to update in between working on shadowfox. I hope you guys like it!

(Oh FYI I deleted eye of the storm and instead added elements of what I wanted that story to be, to this story.)

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"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

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**In the Shadow of War**

In the shadow of war, legends rise and fall.

In the shadow of war, fortunes are turned.

In the shadow of war, love is found and hatred discovered.

In the shadow of war, is only more war.

_**Prologue -**_

With the Hidden Leaf having come out on top in the last three great wars, they were always ahead of the other villages in terms of strength, but with the recent attack on the village by the Kyuubi, measures were taken to make sure that strength is regained.

"Hiruzen, I propose a complete restructuring of the academy. During the third war too many young shinobi died due to the laid back teachings of the first Hokage. If you would have taken my advice back then and taught those children how to actually fight and kill, they might have lost their innocence, but at least they would still be alive." Danzo stated as the shinobi council was looking up at him attentively, "Despite what some of you may think, the safety of the Leaf has been and always will be my primary concern. I created ROOT to fix your problem, by having them do the missions that your shinobi should have been but weren't prepared to do. While I'm not going so far as to say that I would turn the next entire generation into ROOT-style shinobi I do strongly suggest you take my advice this time teach them right. We need to make it clear to these children what exactly they signed up for, which is being trained to kill people." He took a moment to clear his throat, Danzo could feel the tired gaze of his long-term rival on him.

"While they may still be humans they are also the village's weapons. While the Konoha gates are the shield they are the spear protecting the people behind the shield, and right now that spear has been dulled to the point of becoming blunt. I merely wish to sharpen the spear through proper shinobi training, like what Tobirama-sensei put us through. Children today would not survive in what we grew up in, and even though the third war ended a few years ago I can see the unrest in Iwa and the power-hungry Kumo setting their sights on us. We need to act now, and we need to act fast or war will be upon us and we will be caught unprepared." Danzo finished before retaking his seat. The shinobi council composed of the clan heads and the elders all sat silently contemplating the ANBU commander's words.

Hiruzen sighed as he set his pipe down and rubbed his tired eyes. Why did someone have to let loose the Kyuubi? Why did Minato and Kushina have to sacrifice themselves and leave their only son alone? Why did he have to return to the office to clean up this mess? He was too old for this shit. With another sigh Hiruzen nodded, "I would like to test this first, a control group so to speak. I will take half of the students from this year's new class and let you train them as you see fit, by the end of the year we will compare the progress of each class. If this works, and with the backing of the council, I will consider a complete reform of the academy."

Sarutobi looked over the papers in front of him and turned back towards his council, "Does anyone else have anything to add before I get to tonight's last topic?" He asked tiredly and received no answer. With a nod he clicked the button on his intercom and asked his secretary to send Kakashi in. This confused many but what confused them more was something wrapped in a blue blanket in his hands.

"As of right now, what I say is unspeakable. If I find out this information is leaked, I will find out who did it and personally kill them. Understood?" The Hokage said with his full authority and a slight blast of KI that made some of them uneasy. All signs of tiredness were lost instantly and sat before them was the Kami no Shinobi.

All of the shinobi present nodded and Sarutobi motioned Kakashi to lay the bundle down on the table in full view of everyone. The fourteen-year-old boy pulled the blanket back slightly to show a sleeping blonde-haired boy with three whiskers on each cheek. "This ladies and gentlemen is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, Minato and Kushina's son. He is also the reason we aren't all dead right now... in his last moments Minato summoned the shinigami to seal the Kyuubi inside of Naruto using an incredibly complex Uzumaki fuinjutsu." He could see a few of them shift uncomfortably and spoke once again, "Before your irrational fears get the better of you, I want you to consider this. Minato and Kushina were both seal masters skilled beyond both Jiraiya and I combined. So a sealing formula created by not one but both of them is quite possibly the strongest cage ever built. Do not fear Naruto for what he holds, cherish him for what he's sacrificed tonight. A mother, a father, and a chance at a normal life." Picking the child up, Sarutobi held him to his chest.

"As a jinchuuriki his choice to become a shinobi was taken away from him, and even if this burden was forced upon him, we will need to make the best of this situation and help Naruto learn to use the Kyuubi's chakra to help the Leaf." Sarutobi stopped talking for a moment as he felt the bundle move slightly and open his bright blue eyes making the old man smile for the first time on this god forsaken night. "While his Namikaze name will be kept secret due Iwa, I will at least give Naruto his Uzumaki name and inheritance. Hopefully when he's older Naruto will understand what all happened tonight and not resent us... but only time will tell." Sarutobi said as he gently rocked the babe back to sleep before handing him to Kakashi once more.

"Sarutobi." Danzo spoke gaining the Hokage's attention. "Who will raise the boy? While the Uzumaki name may not be as well-remembered as the late fourth Hokage's it still was a feared clan and there's a chance that ones as old as us will remember and try to abduct young Naruto for his bloodline." He said making Sarutobi nod sadly.

"I would adopt Naruto myself but I'm afraid with being Hokage I won't have the time to properly care for him. I was thinking of simply having an in-home caretaker raise him for now with a squad of ANBU watching over him at all times." Sarutobi stated.

"The boy does not have god-parents?" Chouza asked.

"He does, Tsunade and Jiraiya. Jiraiya is off god knows where for Kami knows how long, until he hears of the Kyuubi's attack and rushes back home. Tsunade is probably drunk at a gambling hall somewhere... I fear my dear student only accepted because she was drunk at the time." Hiruzen said making some of them sweatdrop.

"I can watch after the pup until one of his god-parents is found if you wish Hokage-sama." Tsume said as she looked over at the sleeping child.

Sarutobi smiled gratefully at her, "I would appreciate that Tsume, thank you." He said making the woman nod at him.

"Hana did say she wanted a little brother after all." The woman said with a shrug as Kakashi handed her the boy.

"Thank you for taking care of Naruto for me while we were holding the meeting Kakashi-kun, please go home and rest... I'm sure you must be tired." Sarutobi said to the young ANBU who eye-smiled and nodded.

"Thank you Hokage-sama." The white-haired boy said before leaving in a swirl of leaves, while Kakashi was deeply saddened at loosing his dear sensei who was almost like a father to him, he hoped that he could forge a new bond with Minato's son.

"With that I believe we should wrap tonight up, I'm sure you all want to go home to your families and rest. Goodnight." The aged Hokage left towards the part of the Hokage tower that held his living quarters. After picking a team of ANBU to watch over Naruto at all times he tried to scrape any sleep he could get tonight.


	2. Entrance Exam

**AN - **OH Naruto is also 2 years older than the rookie 9... err 8.

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"Normal speech"

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**In the Shadow of War**

A child walked down the street, unnoticed by the mass population. He was dressed in a dark blue muscle shirt with black Shinobi pants and a black coat that reached down to his ankles with a large red swirl on the back. He had slicked back blonde hair and piercing blue eyes with a neutral expression on his face. Even though he hid it well, today was the day he's been waiting for.

Today Naruto was going to enter the standard academy and train to become a ninja. While he would on occasion spar with his friend Hana he didn't really have any friends besides her and her little brother Kiba. Most of his time was spent training with a boy a year younger than him named Sai with Danzo-sensei. While he tried being friends with Sai the truth was that the guy was really weird and had a creepy smile.

One thing he learned however was that Sai was a really good painter, while Naruto was decent himself due to learning fuinjutsu was much like painting he was nowhere as good as Sai. Even though he took pride in the fact that Sai wasn't even remotely close to his level in sealing, those Uzumaki genes were really something.

The boy walked into the academy building and roamed around the bottom floor until he came upon room 1-B and entered. It was still rather early so the classroom was still empty except for one blonde girl with large glasses sitting at the front reading what looked like a romance book.

"Good morning." Naruto greeted his new classmate who jumped, startled. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He said sheepishly.

"O-Oh umm, hi? Are you in this class too?" The girl asked and Naruto nodded as he extended his hand out.

"Naruto Uzumaki." The blonde boy said simply the girl took his hand and shoot it, blushing lightly as she got a good look at the boy. She could tell he trained before coming to the academy by the outline of his body through that skin-tight shirt that made the poor girl blush even more and bite her lip slightly. She then looked away embarrassed that she was staring and said, "I-I'm Sh-Shiho, Shiho Seitei." The blonde girl introduced herself as she mentally tried to calm herself down.

"Hmm, well nice to meet you Shiho-chan." Naruto said in a neutral tone as he took the seat next to her and sat down. "I hope you don't mind me sitting here?"

Shiho shook her head and smiled slightly, "No, no that's fine." She said while she looked like she wanted to say more but stopped herself, Naruto noticed this and decided to ask. "Oh umm... well are you really an Uzumaki?"

Naruto looked a bit confused at her question but nodded nonetheless, "Yes I'm an Uzumaki... is that a problem?"

Shiho flinched slightly and shook her head, "No it's just that... well... umm... I thought your clan was wiped out."

Naruto nodded to himself, "While most of my clan was indeed wiped out, my mother was found by the Konoha's forces in a bunker with some other survivors." He explained.

"If there were other survivors, why haven't I heard of other Uzumaki living in Konoha?" Shiho asked, now intrigued.

"Most fled to other nations, due to a storm created by Kiri's Shinobi the Konoha forces were stalled long enough for Iwa and Kusa to wipe out my clan. While Konoha tried to power through the storm but Uzu's large whirlpools stalled them even further, at the time the survivors were emotional and incensed, choosing not to trust Konoha thinking that they let them die rather than send help sooner which is why no one other than my mother returned to Konoha seeing as Mito-sama was her great-aunt." Naruto told her. While Sarutobi told him a similar story, when he was given his clan home to live in at the age of six he found his mother's diary hidden under a floorboard that detailed all her most important experiences up until a few days before his birth.

"I see... that's very sad, you have my condolences" Shiho said with a frown on her face, Naruto nodded his thanks but then shrugged.

"It happened before I was born so I don't necessarily feel saddened by it, plus I'm sure I have some family left out there. Story goes that a good sign one is an Uzumaki is a special shade of blood-red hair that only Uzumaki have. While the red hair is a dominant trait as you can see, my father seemed to have been a blonde." Naruto said as he pointed towards blonde hair that required Naruto to channel chakra to have it stay slicked back so it would stay out of his eyes.

Shiho nodded and was about to comment but the teacher had just shown up and sometime between their conversation the rest of their classmates walked in.

"Welcome, to the Konoha Academy. My name is Keito Washi and I will hopefully be your teacher for the next four years." The blue haired chuunin said as he stood at the front of the class.

"What do you mean hopefully?" A random student asked making Keito frown slightly.

"There is an 'entrance' exam... a large amount of students never make it past this exam on their first try." Keito explained.

"What is the exam?" Naruto asked, his curiosity piqued.

"If you will all follow me to the auditorium, all will be explained." The teacher said as he led the class to a large building, separated from the rest of the academy. The class noticed that the other three classes were also entering through the four different entrances.

When all the classes were settled in a man in a white robe with a bandages over one eye and a cane walked to the stage and stood in front of a microphone stand. "Welcome to the Konoha Academy, first years. I am the headmaster Danzo Shimura. As I'm sure you have all heard, before any of you can attend here, you must complete the entrance exam." He signaled towards a chuunin next to him and the curtains behind Danzo were raised, showing a large amount of baby rabbits in cages. Some of the girls were openly cooing at the sight of the bunnies while Shiho quickly drew a conclusion that made her slightly nauseous.

Naruto couldn't say he was surprised. He had trained under the guidance of Danzo for the past three years and doing something like what he suspected was about to happen seemed right up Danzo's alley. _I suppose that the first lesson in learning how to kill, would be to actually kill something._

"Each and every one of you will receive on of these rabbits and a kunai. If I need to explain to you what you have to do, then you might as well leave now." Danzo said with an emotionless tone that made many of the children shiver and some of them shy away as a group of chuunin started taking the bunnies out of the cages and handing them to the students.

Naruto had stood at the front of his class and when he received his rabbit, he only hesitated for a second before pulling out one of his own kunai and stabbing the animal through the skull to make its death instantaneous.

Everyone who saw this froze, the act even shocking the chuunin that were still handing out rabbits. Naruto looked up with emotionless eyes when he heard a sound across from him which happened to be a girl throwing up. He looked down at himself and could see the rabbit bleeding on him, so he handed the corpse back to the stunned chuunin in front of him.

Shiho who was next to him was ready to faint as some of the rabbit's blood landed on her, she watched as the blonde boy pulled out a black handkerchief and handed it to her before muttering an apology and taking out a small towel for himself to wipe the clothes off his coat and shirt.

Danzo looked on at Naruto and when their eyes met he nodded. "If you are not ready to do what he just did, leave. Try again next year if you wish, but let me make this absolutely clear. You are here to learn how to kill, you are being trained to remove Konoha's threats from existence. I do not tolerate weakness and failures are not worth my time. Do what must be done or choose another career, you have one hour." With that, the robed man stepped off the stage and walked back to his office.

The next hour was incredibly awkward for Naruto, the first ten minutes everyone except Shiho shied away from him to the point that the two blondes were left standing in a circle with everyone else back away. Most of the girls couldn't do it and either ran away crying or silently gave in and walked out solemnly. The boys did better but roughly thirty-percent of them gave in and left.

When that was over Keito led his class back to room 1-B and counted who was left. Out of his former class of forty he had twenty-two left. With a sigh he informed his students that they had the rest of the day off today to recuperate and to return tomorrow at eight in the morning.


	3. Break In

"Normal speech"

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_Thoughts_

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**In the Shadow of War: II**

"Well Shiho-chan, it looks like I'll be placed in the advanced class next year." Naruto said as he walked with his fellow blonde.

Shiho nodded sadly, "While I'm a little sad that you'll be leaving, I'm proud of you for moving up so fast. You really are a cut above the rest of the class and you need to go up against people more your level." This is why he liked Shiho, she was smart, cute, and understanding.

"Thanks Shiho-chan. Hey, want to get some dango to celebrate us graduating from first-years?" Naruto asked as they neared a restaurant he liked to go to on occasion.

"Su-Sure, I'd l-love to Naruto-kun!" Shiho said as she blushed only for it to get brighter when he smiled at her and took her hand, leading the girl into the stall.

_**XXX**_

Six-months had passed and Naruto would sometimes find Shiho after class so they could hang out together since she was in a second-year class while he was bumped up to one teaching third-year material. Slowly over the year Naruto would visit less and less as he became wrapped up in the elemental training that they were doing ever since he found that he had not one or two natures but three.

Having reported this to the Hokage and headmaster Danzo they both pushed him to master the three elements in hopes that he could possibly create an artificial bloodline with them. Possibly Ice with his wind and water or Plasma with water and lightning or maybe even Magnet with wind and lightning?

Naruto started his third-year but was moved into the 'Prodigy' class teaching fourth-year material. Through the use of shadowclones he was first able to master wind style, followed by lightning during his third year and most of water.

Naruto started his fourth-year in the 'Elite' class that taught techniques that were only available to chuunin before the academy reform. In this last year Naruto was able to finish his water nature and started trying to combine them under the eye of Danzo who employed Yamato's aid seeing as he was the only person in Konoha who had successfully combined two elements to form a sub-element.

Naruto and his clone army's efforts finally shined through as one of Naruto's ideas was successful. The boy remembered learning about the Tsuchikage and how the second and third used a unique sub-element called Dust Release that was instead of a bloodline a successful combination of three incredibly high chakra natures.

Naruto applied the same concept to his natures and after a few months was able to create his own Kekkei Tota, the true Ranton or Storm release. Seeing as Kumo already had a 'Storm release' which combined water and lightning, Konoha secretly renamed this 'Surge Release' and naming Naruto's kekkei tota 'Storm Release.'

The day Naruto graduated from the academy, Danzo offered him a place in the ANBU which he took without hesitation. Four months later the young but powerful Storm ANBU was promoted to captain and given the team of Fox, Cat, and Falcon.

For the next six months ANBU team 27 did missions from A-S rank with only one failure on record, which was rather impressive for a freshly promoted captain and rookie ANBU members.

Storm had called his team to meet him on the Hokage tower's room for a mission they had. He waited patiently before hearing three almost soundless taps behind him and turned.

"Storm-taicho!" The three saluted, he nodded.

"At ease." He said before leading the three down the stairs into the tower, "Hokage-sama said we have a recon mission today." Storm told them as they reached the Hokage's office and knocked on the door.

'Enter.'

"Good morning Hokage-sama, ANBU team 27 reporting in." The young captain said with a bow imitated by the other three.

"Ah, good morning team 27. I have a recon mission for you today, our spies in the Land of Giant Mushrooms have reported seeing the Kusa-nin starting to mobilize. I fear they allied with Iwa and are preparing for war. You four are to find what you can and see if there is any truth to Kusa proving a potential enemy." The Hokage said before handing Naruto a black scroll. "In there you will find any relevant information we have thus far and a map marking the location of where our spies will meet you."

"If that is all Hokage-sama?" Storm asked and received a nod, "North gate, one hour." the captain told his squad before using the shunshin to return to HQ and gather his supplies.

**XXX**

_**-Eleven Hours Later-**_

ANBU team 27 was on the border of Fire and Mushroom countries and arrived at the site marked on the map that Naruto had destroyed a few hours ago.

Three people were waiting by a river when Storm jumped down making them all flinch slightly, "The wind carries four leaves from the great tree." Storm spoke in a monotone voice making the three spies relax before Naruto called for the rest of his team.

"I am Storm, the captain of this squad, Hokage-sama said you had updated information?"

"Hai, Storm-taicho. We have noticed many Kusa-nin going west, towards the Spire sea." The leader of the spies stated.

"Isn't that where?" Naruto started and received a nod.

"Hai, that's where Hozuki-jo resides, and where a fabled ancient weapon of Kusa is said to be held. This is why we requested ANBU help on this matter as sneaking into a maximum security prison isn't exactly in our job description." The head spy said.

"Sneaking into a prison, huh?" Storm said as he turned towards the direction of the Spire sea, "And Hozuki-jo no less. Well... let's get a move on then."

The three regular ANBU looked unsure but this was their job and they had to do it whether they liked it or not.

**XXX**

It was pitch black in the middle of the night as the four ANBU ran over the sea leading to the island of Hozuki-jo. Normally the waters are raging with whirlpools and stormy weather but Naruto used an Uzumaki jutsu that dispersed whirlpools and calmed the storm near around them while the rest of the sea continued with the storm.

Technically they were inside of Ame territory but Hozuki-jo lands just inside of Kusa borders. Another twenty minutes of running through the water and they could see the island prison in the distance.

"We're nearing the prison, Falcon, I need you to make a cave for us at the bottom of the cliff. We'll rest there for the night and start our search tomorrow."

"Hai taicho." Falcon responded as they landed on the beach and he quickly ran through a set of handseals before touching the cliff wall, making a cavern but much to their surprise there was already a cave system built with a small pond that most likely led out into the sea.

"Hmm, seal up the entrance." Falcon did as he was told and Naruto nodded to himself, "I can feel wind in here so we don't need air holes. Plus that hole out to the sea could make a good escape route. Since this was made by someone, everyone will keep watch for two hours. I'll take first watch, you guys get some rest."

His team didn't argue as they were dead tired from running for almost five hours straight. Within five minutes they were all out like a light. Naruto put out small lantern and sat against the cavern wall, luckily he wasn't tired. He was hardly ever tired. While he did enjoy his sleep, all he really needed was maybe half an hour and he was good. It was one of the many perks that having the Kyuubi sealed inside of him gave him.

The two hours passed quickly for him and he walked over to Cat for her turn. He shook the purple haired woman lightly and he felt her tense up, "At easy Cat, it's just your turn."

"Oh, I see, very well taicho." The woman said as she stood up and stretched lightly to fully wake herself up. "Who will be next?"

"Fox then Falcon."

"Very well, good night captain."

"Night." Naruto said as he retook his place against the cold cavern wall and rested his eyes but kept his senses open.

**XXX**

_So that's what they're trying to do. They need to power up this box and there is some sort of super weapon inside of it. Interesting. _Naruto thought to himself as watched the unaware scientists below him. Cat was next to him with a new type of camera that is handheld and not those large bulky ones for movies.

They stayed for an hour taping the whole conversation before the scientists and warden of the prison left the hidden room. "Let's go, we need to get this to Hokage-sama ASAP." Naruto whispered to Yugao who nodded and they used shunshin to return to the cave. The blonde activated his headset and radioed in to the two missing ANBU.

"Falcon, Fox, we're leaving. Now." Storm ordered and not ten seconds later two swirls of leaves came in flying through the cavern that materialized into the two ANBU. "Let's go. Falcon, drop the wall."

The bird masked ANBU did as he was told and released the artificial rock wall then the four ANBU rushed out into the sea, no one ever being aware of their presence.

**XXX**

ANBU captain Storm, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Ibiki Morino all sat around a TV screen just as the tape ended. "As you can see Hokage-sama, Kusa is attempting to revive this so-called ancient weapon of theirs. No doubt this is related to the possibility of another world war."

The Hokage nodded grimly, "Yes, a frightening prospect. I will have to keep a closer eye on Hozuki-jo from now on, but for now excellent work Storm."

"Thank you Hokage-sama... will that be all?" Storm asked and Hiruzen nodded his dismissal.

"What do you think of this Ibiki?"

"I believe we should keep an eye on Hozuki-jo and Kusa in general but for now they don't seem to have a strong enough power source to fuel this weapon so we should be fine as long as we prevent this from happening." Ibiki added his thoughts to which the Hokage agreed.

"I fear was is upon us Ibiki... I can only hope that the academy reform will have been enough to keep the younger generation safer than during the third war."

"One can only hope Hokage-sama."

"Hope..." Sarutobi whispered as the image of a brilliant young blonde who so resembled his father came to mind. "Yes... hope..." He agreed with a smile.


	4. A New Mission

"Normal speech"

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**In the Shadow of War: III**

"Boar." An elderly voice called out making a hidden ANBU jump down from the ceiling and kneel in front of a desk.

"Hai, Hokage-sama?" The masked man asked.

The Hokage had a look on his face that said he didn't want to particularly do something but had to, "I need you to bring me ANBU captains Dog, Storm, Blossom, and Bear please." Sarutobi ordered as he looked down at a piece of paper that just came in from the Land of Water.

The Boar ANBU nodded and disappeared in a flash of leaves to ANBU HQ to retrieve the captains.

_This has bad written all over it but I'm confident with these four, they should come out fine... I hope._

**XXX**

The Boar ANBU walked the halls of the hidden black-ops headquarters with practiced ease, going towards a certain section that housed the high-ranking officials. He walked up towards a guarded chakra steel gate and bowed to the guards, "Hokage-sama requests the presence of captains Dog, Storm, Blossom, and Bear."

The first ANBU nodded to the second who went inside and five minutes later five people stepped out.

"Are-are, another mission already? Here I was hoping I would catch up on my reading today." The laid back voice of Dog said.

"Calm down Inu-senpai, it's too early for your crap." Storm muttered with a yawn.

"Jeez you two both whine like children, when are you going to grow up and act your ages?" Blossom, a silver-haired woman asked with a bit of a snicker.

"It's especially too early for your crap Blossom-senpai." Storm spoke with an annoyed tone.

"Aww but you're so cute when you're angry! I could just eat you up!" Blossom said as she hugged Storm and literally picked him up off the floor much to his annoyance.

"Please put Storm-san down Blossom-san, we have been summoned by the Hokage and it's best not to keep him waiting with your shenanigans." Bear spoke in a robotic voice that creeped out Blossom.

"I hate it when he does that." Blossom whispered to the ANBU nestled between her breasts. "And I hate when you try to murder me through suffocation." The vertically challenged ANBU replied in a muffled voice due to his face being squished by his mask.

"Alright, alright, put Storm-kun down Blossom. It seems we all have a mission and since Hokage-sama is sending four captains, I'm sure it'll be a toughy, so let's get going." Inu said, being the ironic promoter of promptness.

"HAAAAAIIIIII!" Blossom cheered as she suddenly let Storm go hoping he would fall on his ass but he landed on his feet without so much as a sound.

"I swear one of these days she's going to kill me with those things." Storm muttered as he walked ahead of the group.

"But what a way to go, ne?" Inu said cheerfully.

"Shut up Inu."

"Hai, hai."

_**-Five minutes later-**_

Hearing the Hokage call out his permission to enter, the dog masked ANBU walked in first followed by the other four ANBU. "Good morning Hokage-sama." Inu greeted happily.

"Good morning Kakashi." The Hokage said making the Inu flinch suddenly in surprise gaining a chuckle from the old man. "As of now your identity has been revealed, please turn in your mask." The Hokage said with a kind smile.

The other three summoned captains started panicking after seeing what just happened to their most senior member who took off his mask and placed it on the desk.

_FUUUUUUUUCK! I just got to captain not six-months ago and I'm already going to be kicked out? What the fuck is that shit? _Storm ranted in his mind.

_I suppose I had a good run. _Were Bear's boring thoughts.

_Well... shit. _Spoken like a true lady there Blossom.

"Now I'm sure you three wish to know your fates as well, correct?" Sarutobi asked the remaining captains who were slightly fearful of his next words. "I will not force you to retire like Kakashi-kun here, he's just been in ANBU for close to fifteen years now and as you all know that is the limit." He reminded the three leftover captains who all seemed embarrassed over forgetting that little tidbit of information, even Kakashi seemed to have forgotten.

"Now I must ask my ANBU guards to please step out of the office as the identity of my remaining captains must stay a secret." The Hokage spoke with authority and four ANBU instantly left their hiding spots and stepped out of the office. With their exit the Hokage activated the security and silencing seals in his office. "Now if you please would all remove your masks."

The three captains did as they were told and each removed their masks. Bear was a simple design that resembled one, Blossom was a white mask with rose petals flowing down the left side of the mask, while Storm's was black with two white lightning bolts going from the top of the mask to the bottom, going through the eyeslits.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Yamato were all in the standard ANBU gear while Kagura was wearing a midriff red jacket that was unzipped showing her bound chest underneath, she also had on a red skirt with bandages poking out from the bottom and a pair of red sleeved fingerless gloves with red high-heeled sandals with a red plate covering the front of them and her ninjato strapped to a shingaurd on her left leg.

"OHMYGOD!" Kagura squealed as she hugged Naruto again much to his embarrassment as he could no longer hide the light blush on his cheeks without his mask anymore. "You're even cuter that I imagined! Look at those whiskers! They're downright adorable!"

"GOD DAMMIT WOMAN PUT ME DOWN, I'M NOT SOME DAMN TOY!" Naruto shouted before substituting himself with a vase that was on a table.

"Aww I think I made Storm-kun mad." Kagura said with a playful smirk as she held a finger to her lips.

The old man smiled slight before clearing his throat, gaining the attention of the four ninja, "Can we proceed to why I called you four in today?" Sarutobi asked as he smiled gently at Kagura and Naruto who both had a chill run up their spines.

"Of course Hokage-sama, I apologize for Blossom-senpai's actions." Naruto said making Kagura look like she wanted to protest but a sharp look from the Hokage instantly shot down that idea.

"Anyway, this morning I received word from Mei Terumi the supposed rebel leader in the Kirigakure civil war. They are asking for help from us in exchange for becoming exclusive allies should the rebels win. I'm sure you've all noticed but if not, Iwa and Kumo have been acting suspicious lately and our spies report that they've started rearming and doing many more patrols. If war should break out then even the weakened Kiri will become a valuable ally if not for soldiers then at least for resources." The Hokage explained making them all nod in understanding.

"Now while you will not be going as ANBU, this is classified as a SS-rank mission. Should you fail we will deny that Konoha ever sent the rebels aid and you will be branded missing-nin. While I don't like doing this, it is necessary in case you do fail and Iwa or Kumo find out about our interference. I hope you understand?" He asked making the four nod once again. The resolve in their eyes never faltering once, making the old man proud.

"Very well, you leave as soon as the sun sets and I expect you to be on a boat heading to the Land of Water under the cover of night by tonight. Any questions?" Sarutobi asked making Kakashi raise his hand.

"Who will be leading?"

"You of course."

"Hmm... I see."

"Is that a problem Kakashi?"

"No... not necessarily, just less time for me to read since I'll be having to think of strategies and such." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

Sarutobi chuckled and handed Kakashi a black scroll with all the mission details. "Dismissed."

"South gate, three hours." Kakashi said before using shunshin to appear at his apartment, having left his ANBU mask on the Hokage's desk.

"Good day Lord Hokage." Naruto said, retrieving his mask and taking off in a swirl of leaves followed by Yamato then Kagura.

_Be careful you four, Kami keep you..._

**XXX**

_**-Five Hours Later-**_

The four ninja stowed away on a trade ship that was heading towards the Land of Water, Yamato had created a false wall with his Mokuton to seal them off at the end of the cargo area with a small window to let in fresh air.

Well let's go over the mission details shall we? Naruto if you wouldn't mind?" Kakashi asked the young blonde to just tapped the wall and a seal showed up before fading away once again.

"Already done, this silencing seal will stop all sound from exiting." Naruto said as he rested against the fake wall with his eyes closed.

"Great." Kakashi said with an eye smile before opening up the black scroll and reading aloud the details of the mission, any relevant information on the situation in Kiri along with a map showing the location of the contact point for the rebel contacts.

Having copied all the information with his sharingan as he read, he destroyed the scroll and map before unsealing a futon and a blanket then went to sleep. The other three sweat dropped but followed suit.

Yamato set his futon on the other end while Naruto placed his near the wall and Kagura set hers two feet from Naruto's which he ignored in favor of getting a good night's sleep for once instead of the four or five he got at HQ before he was called off for another mission or patrol duty. God he was looking forward to this.

An hour later the four-man team was sleeping soundly except for Kagura who had kicked off her quilt while she slept and the cool breeze from the window Yamato created made her shiver and wake up. In her sleep addled mind all she could think of was getting warm again so she could go back to sleep so naturally she scooted her futon next to Naruto's and climbed under his blanket with her quilt over it, snuggling up to the blonde contently. With a sigh the teenager went back to sleep, clinging to the blonde with a smile on her face.

That morning Naruto woke up much warmer than ever before and snuggled deeper into his pillow which let out a giggle. _Wait a second... pillows don't giggle. _He cracked open one eye and see... bandages? _Please Kami at least let this be the top and not her bottom. _Naruto looked up and met his electrifying baby blue eyes with a pair of icy dark blues ones. "Morning Naruto-kun, you having fun down there?" Kagura asked with a smirk.

Naruto sighed and untangled himself from the woman and sat up, "Any reason why you were in my futon?" He asked seeing as she seemed to have pulled her own next to his.

Kagura pouted and crossed her arms under her noticeable bust, making them stick out even more, which all three guys noticed with varying interest. "What? I was cold last night and you were the closest one next to me that I could snuggle with, plus I'm pretty sure you didn't mind since you tried to bury yourself deeper into my boobs. Not that I'm complaining or anything, since I enjoyed it too." She said with a shameless grin.

"What are you a pedophile?" Naruto deadpanned.

Kagura had a mock look of hurt on her face and started going into dramatics, "How could you call me that, my dear Naru-chan? If there's love, what does it matter if you're twelve and I'm fifteen?" She proclaimed with fake tears streaming down her face.

"Despite it being morally reprehensible, there is no love between us. At least I don't think so or in your case it is unrequited." Naruto said plainly.

"Gah. Rejected... by a pre-teen." Kagura said with a stunned look.

Kakashi who was sat next to Yamato giggled to himself, "Naruto sure knows how to let them down easily, right Tenzo?"

Yamato nodded, "I don't think I could have been more blunt than that if I tried... and it's Yamato."

"OI! Shut up you idiots! We can hear you, you know." Naruto said from his spot no ten feet away.

Kagura turned around with a rain cloud over her head and fake tears in her eyes, "SENPAI!" She cried as she lunged at Kakashi, "NARU-CHAN REJECTED ME! WAAAAAHHHH!" Kakashi tried consoling her but having a young yet fully matured teenage girl on top of him early in the morning was testing his limits of self-control.

A second later the rain cloud disappeared along with the tears as Kagura looked him in the eye, "Oi, that better be a kunai poking me you bastard."

"Umm... yeah... a kunai." Kakashi said embarrassed while Yamato snorted and turned to hide his snickering.

"You fucking sicko, I'm fifteen!" Kagura shouted as she got off of the team leader and jumped back, choosing to hide behind Naruto who had a mildly annoyed look on his face but just calmed himself through breathing exercises.

"Ehehe... sorry?" Kakashi apologized weakly as he used his book to cover his crotch while Kagura just kept glaring at him. Naruto sighed as look out the window. _It's going be a very long and very awkward trip._


	5. Echo Base

**AN - **For anyone wondering Kagura is actually not an OC she's in one of the video games. Just google Kagura-anbu and she'll pop up on the wiki. Since she was only in the video games I figured I could make her personality whatever I want so I went with bubbly and teasing.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Jutsu, Kyuubi, or scene change**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**In the Shadow of War: IV**

Team Kakashi had snuck off the ship before it docked and ran over the water the rest of the way. After sneaking past some Kiri Loyalist patrols they made it to the contact point which was a small cave off inside of a waterfall.

"That should be the place." Kakashi pointed to the waterfall, "I want full alert just in case they were discovered or we were followed."

"Captain, want me to see if they're in there?" Naruto asked a received a nod from Kakashi. He quickly flipped through a set of seals and aimed both palms at the waterfall, "**Storm Style: Water Particle Tracking.**" The way this jutsu worked was by having small amounts of electricity stored inside of water particles that drift through the wind and when they collide against an object, link together to form an image. Naruto could sense two figures inside, one was a man and the other a boy with a sword from what he could tell.

"I believe that is them inside, but I can't be sure." Naruto said as he focused on the image being broadcast by his jutsu, "I can see that their Kiri headbands are slashed so it might be them." He said with his eyes closed.

"That will have to do. Yamato, Naruto, and I will go in to meet the rebels, Kagura stay hidden to cover us with your genjutsu if we need it." Kakashi said, now in full shinobi mode.

The three other ninja saluted and Kagura took off, to hide while the three guys jumped down into the river and walked up to the waterfall. "The tree's leaves drift into the river." Kakashi said loudly.

"The river carries the leaves to the basin." A voice loudly replied from inside making the three ANBU jump into the waterfall and found two people inside who bowed to them.

"I am Ao, and this is Chojuro." The tall blue haired man said before pointing to the boy next to him about the same age as Naruto.

"I am Kakashi Hatake, that is Yamato and Naruto." Kakashi introduced himself then pointed to Yamato and finally Naruto.

A small smile graced Ao's face as he heard the name, "I see, it is an honor to mean Sharingan Kakashi."

"Looks like your reputation precedes you Kakashi-senpai." Naruto said as he leaned against the cave's wall.

Ao raised his noticable eye's brow and turned to Naruto, "I didn't think Hokage-sama would send a child to war."

"And yet there is one next to you. Age matters little if you are most skilled than your opponent." Naruto replied making Ao nod. "Very true... Naruto-san, was it?"

"Hai."

"Very well, let's get going shall we? Mei-sama has hoped that Hokage-sama would send aid and would be happy to see you. Oh and you may want to call that young woman down." Ao said while Kakashi let out a sharp whistle and a few seconds later the waterfall was parted by a humanoid like transparent image that turned into a woman when she entered the cave.

"This is Kagura, she was waiting as back-up, I'm sure you understand Ao-san." Kakashi explained and Ao nodded in understanding.

"One can never be too careful during a war. Please, if you would follow me." Ao said as he led them down a path inside of the cave that led out to the coast and they ran once more back into the forest.

"Our bases are underground and in cave systems that Mei-sama created, it was the only way to hide our rebel army on this island." Ao said as they came to a stop and he walked into a bush, opening a hidden latch revealing a trap door. "In here."

The other five shinobi jumped down the hole followed by Ao who closed and locked the trapdoor behind him. He carefully studied the four Konoha shinobi in front of him. All four walked with the trained posture of proper shinobi even with Kagura moving her hips unnecessarily, while he only noticed in passing mind you... it's not like he was actually looked or anything.

He focused on Naruto who Ao could tell was highly trained and didn't have even a shred of fear over going to war if his calm chakra network was anything to go by. _Chojuro could learn a thing or two from this boy. _He thought as he turned to the swordsman in training next to him who looked like his own shadow would startle him. _In my day young men were trained to do one thing and one thing only, to kill. If it weren't for the constant weakening of Kiri I would have voted to keep the bloody mist's practices._

"We'll take a right here." Ao said as he walked up towards the front and started leading the team through the maze of interconnecting tunnels before they came upon a door which Ao knocked on in a certain way that all four Konoha shinobi memorized.

"Who is it?"

"Ao, the Konoha shinobi are here." A slit in the door opened and the man nodded after confirming that it was Ao. The door opened and Ao led the group into the base. The Konoha shinobi could see rebels walking around inside of the large underground room, supplies and armaments placed anywhere they could fit.

Ao walked them towards the end of a hallway and knocked on the door, "Mei-sama, Hokage-sama's shinobi are here."

'Come in!' Came the reply from inside.

The six people walked in to see an auburn haired woman in a blue battle dress with four other men all sitting around a table with a large map of the Land of Water in the middle of the table. "Ah, welcome Konoha shinobi, I'm glad you could make it." The woman spoke as she stood up followed by the men she was sitting with.

Kakashi nodded, "I am Kakashi Hatake, this is Yamato, Naruto, and Kagura." He said pointing to each one.

Mei had a pleasant smile on her face as she spoke, "I see, it is nice to meet you all, I am Mei Terumi the leader of the rebel forces." She was rather intrigued that the Hokage would send her two teenagers but figured there was a reason why so she didn't say anything so as not to seem ungrateful.

"I assume we're here to help with the last push of the war?" Kakashi asked and received a nod from Mei.

"Indeed, the rebel forces are ready to storm Kirigakure but we have lost many good soldiers which is why I asked Hokage-sama to send a strike force of his best to help take out some of Yagura's elites." Mei told them.

"So what can you tell us about what we'll be facing?" Kakashi inquired as he took a seat with his team standing behind him.

"Well first is Yagura himself he's highly skilled in Suiton jutsu as well as bojutsu, and has perfect control over his bijuu." Mei said shocking the four Konoha-nin.

"He's a jinchuuriki?" Naruto asked and received a nod from Mei.

Kakashi eye smiled, "I guess that explains why Tenzo is here."

"Yamato." The man corrected.

"What do you mean?" Mei asked.

"If it is necessary you will find out, but for now we wish to keep that a secret." Kakashi said, still keeping his eye smile. Mei clicked her tongue but nodded. "Fine."

"So when will this all go down?" Kakashi asked, getting back on track.

"The attack on Kiri will officially begin in two days, but we will be planting traps and doing raids in the meantime. I have a room ready for you that Ao can show you to in the meantime, as well as a training area that you can use if you're bored." Mei said as she nodded to Ao who bowed.

"Please follow me." Ao said as he led them out of the room and showed them the training area before taking them to a decent sized room with a single table in it. "Will you need bedding?"

Kakashi shook his head, "We have our futon with us."

"Dinner will be brought to you in four hours, until then feel free to explore the rest of the base or use the training area." Ao said before taking his leave with Chojuro.

"Well then, I know what I'm going to do while we're on break." Kakashi said with a pervert giggle as he pulled out his book from his back pocket.

Naruto shook his head then took out a small scroll and unsealed his sealing supplies along with another much larger scroll. Kagura came up behind him and rested her chin on one of his shoulder. "Watcha doin' Naru-chan?" She asked, as she watched Naruto start to draw symbols and Kanji.

"I'm preparing an Uzumaki sealing technique just in case. We're dealing with a jinchuuriki so when he is killed unless their souls are bound the Bijuu will be released, with this seal I'll be able to seal it deep inside of a sea or ocean." Naruto explained as he continued making intricate and elegant strokes on the large scroll.

"Almost looks like you're painting." Kagura commented as she admired the intricate design of the large seal.

"There is a reason to that. Sealing requires precise brush strokes and perfect design or the seal will backfire, and no one ever wants a seal to backfire. This is why sealing is so hard for people to master as it requires no only artist ability but logical and critical thinking." Kakashi explained but only further confused the girl, if the look on her face was any indication.

Naruto chuckled, "What Kakashi means is that there is this theory that people prefer one side of the brain over the other. The left side controls logic, reasoning, numbers and all that while the right side of the brain controls creativity, intuition, color and images. Essentially sealing requires a person to have full control over both lobes of the brain to master." He further explained seeing a somewhat thoughtful expressing on Kagura's face, "I'm no scientist so I can't prove that but I do admit that all seals do have an artistic flare on the outside while on the inside it is a complex formula that could cause utter havoc if even the slightest bit is off."

"Sugoi... I could probably never do that. Just thinking about it makes my head hurt let alone actually doing it." Kagura said as she lightly hugged Naruto so as not to make him mess up the seal, "My little Naru-chan is so smart, I can't wait until you're fifteen so I can have my way with you." She said with a grin.

"Please don't have sexual fantasies about me... it's rather creepy." Naruto stated while he continued to draw his seal.

"Well... I could say that I won't have anymore but that doesn't mean I won't dream about it." Kagura admitted.

"Did you skip your last mental check-up?" Naruto asked halfheartedly.

"Mental check-up? They have those?" Kagura asked with a surprised look making the other three look at her seriously. She just scratched the back of her head and laughed nervously, "It was a joke guys, come on."

Kakashi shrugged and returned to his book, while Yamato went back to mediating. "I'm taking you to Inoichi the moment we return to Konoha." Naruto said making Kagura look at him indignantly.

"It was a joke!" She protested.

"You're still going."

"Why are you so mean to me NARU-CHAN!? Can't you see that I love you?" Kagura shouted as the fake tears flooded from her eyes once more.

"No."

"Then I'm obviously not trying hard enough." She muttered, all previous signs of sadness having disappeared in an instant.

"Is that a jutsu or something?" Naruto wondered as even the pool of tears on the floor was gone.

"Hai! I call it Anime-tears no jutsu! Obviously it's a genjutsu." Kagura stated, obviously proud of her invention.

"You're an idiot." Naruto stated, still keeping most of his focus on the seal.

"Mou, so mean." Kagura pouted as she moved her fists to her hips, while Naruto just kept ignoring her in favor of completing his seal.

"Kakashi-senpai, can I just kill myself now and say I died during the war?" Yamato asked.

"Just bare through it Tenzo." Kakashi said, with his face still buried in his smut.

"Yamato." He corrected.

Kakashi looked up and stared at him for a moment, "Sorry did you say something?"

Yamato sighed, "No... nothing."

"Alright then Tenzo." Kakashi eye smiled before going back to his book.

_I wonder if they have alcohol down here... I fear I'm going to need it. _Yamato thought to himself as he tried to tune out Naruto and Kagura's back and forth.


End file.
